Investors gave up on this AI play, but charts suggest it’s worth a look, Jay Woods says

This stock grabbed traders attention in early 2026 as momentum drove shares up over 75%. But the sentiment was too euphoric.

Skip NavigationJoin ICJoin ProLivestreamMenuWhen investors think of the AI buildout, they picture chips, servers and data centers. But all that computing power needs to be connected, and that’s where Dycom Industries comes in. In layman’s terms, Dycom builds the plumbing that makes artificial intelligence work. The S & P Midcap 400 component installs the fiber networks and electrical systems that connect and power data centers. Dycom grabbed traders attention in early 2026 as momentum drove shares up over 75%. Fundamentally, strong earnings, a record backlog and an improved outlook fueled the move as investors embraced its growing AI infrastructure exposure. But expectations got too euphoric, and shares gave it all back amid margin pressure, delayed wireless projects and softer near-term expectations. Yet the underlying business hardly collapsed. Backlog continues to grow, data center demand remains robust and management recently raised its full-year revenue outlook despite those delays. Technically, the stock has made a round trip erasing all of its 2026 gains. Enthusiasm has waned giving investors a second chance at a name they were chasing months ago. Risk/reward looks attractive for both a quick trade and a longer-term play. Let’s examine. The short-term trade For the near-term, we focus on the one-year daily chart. Shares have fallen nearly 50% from their May 27 peak. The stock has gone from overbought to oversold in three months’ time and has reached a good support level. Price has filled its runaway gap created last fall and is holding a solid consolidation area. This is how we will measure our risk. This level also coincides with a significant volume shelf. This is an area where a large amount of stock previously changed hands. The shelf is displayed by placing volume bars horizontally to show how many shares traded at a specific price, rather than during a specific day or week. The bigger the bar — or “volume shelf” — the more trading took place at that level, making it an area where buyers may step in again and create support. Lastly, those momentum indicators in the MACD and RSI are starting to turn higher from oversold conditions. While the buy signal has yet to be confirmed, the trader should anticipate a move knowing downside risk is at this support area based on the recent lows in the $275 to $285 area. The longer-term trade Backing things out to a five-year weekly chart, we observe that shares have broken the rising 50-week moving average and are caught in a no-man’s land — that area between its current price and the 200-week moving average. In this case, I turned to a technical indicator that I don’t use too often, but has proven to be quite helpful during times of uncertainty: the Ichimoku Cloud. Shares are now testing the lower end of the cloud, an area that can act as a zone of support when a stock is attempting to maintain its longer-term trend. For me, the cloud has more relevance over the longer term and we have seen it work well in the past with DY. This level could provide the foundation for a rebound, while a decisive break below the cloud would signal that momentum has weakened and give us a clearly defined level to manage risk. Again, using multiple time frames we are able to get a similar support area from which we measure the risk. The trade Seeing that we have found support on multiple time frames, we know our downside risk is near our recent lows of $285. Buying here and setting stops under $275 will limit that risk if shares were to break lower. The short-term traders should look for a bounce and rallies to $325, which would be the top of the most recent gap lower. Further momentum could see shares fill that gap up to $350. Expect shares to stall in that range until November’s earnings report. The longer-term trade is for the patient investor. The short-term goals we set would be considered relief rallies for now. Profitable, but still leaving the overall trend in question. The stock has broken a major uptrend and needs price confirmation to get back on a path to its recent heights. If you believe in the fundamental story and like definable risk/reward levels, then Dycom has the setup for you. —Jay Woods, CMT with Chase Games Disclosures: None DISCLOSURES: All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, or its parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL’S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. Click here for the full disclaimer.Read More

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